Hi, I have a Lelit PL53 which chewed up the neck of its bean hopper. I immediately cleared that but the grinder seems to have suffered nevertheless. Currently, the motor turns a large white gear which turns a thick metal shaft. Both still turn and the teeth of the gear are fine (see photo). However, if I try to grind anything finer than a French press grind, the motor spins but the bottom burr and sweep arms get stuck. I'm not sure if the shaft is slipping while the big white gear keep turning, or if it's the burr that is slipping on the shaft. I have tried tightening the nut on top of the grinder (I know it's on a reverse thread) with no luck. Any ideas? I have 3 pounds of Blue Bottle espresso on automatic delivery that have piled up while I try to fix this thing.

Thanks!

Roger

Seems to me that the big white gear slips over the shaft.

What's the condition of the small gear attached to the motor? If that's not stripped, than it's probably the shaft is slipping inside either the big or little gears. I believe they're just press fit on, so that's probably the weakest point in the grinder.

Thanks Tristan and Bluecold. Both gears are in good shape so it must be the white gear slipping. They do seem to just press on - there is no pin crossing the shaft that fits into a notch on the big gear or anything like that. This strikes me as a rather serious design flaw (in addition to the hopper that splintered the second time it was replaced delicately..this seems to be the most common problem with the PL53) - I have maybe put 8-10 pounds of coffee through it so barely started to warm up. Have also had a hard time getting any support or parts. First Line is the only source for parts as far as I know and they have not responded to requests for a new gear yet. Their shipping on a new hopper was also somewhat obscene ($17 on a $29 hopper that weighed very little - shipping costs are no more than $7 according to my local espresso shop so the markup seems out of order). This never would have happened with a Rocky and the trouble has cost way more in time and money than the difference in price. The stepless adjustment is nice but perhaps not worth the hassle. Overall, seems like many people have had a good experience with this grinder so my troubles may be more exception than the rule but when one gets into trouble, parts and support are hard to come by.

Hey PolishGuy- did you ever resolve this? My PL53 (5 months old) stopped working too and i found some little plastic pieces from the hopper had the burrs locked. After dis-assembly to remove them I emailed 1st Line and they said they would send a new hopper - no questions asked.
I am having trouble getting the grind dialed in and now I wonder if my grinder was damaged like yours.
JP